HK Tech Phooey

What makes a country/city a gadget haven? (Part 2 - Hong Kong)

Jan 19, 2009 22:38

Last week, I started the topic on what makes a country/city a gadget haven, although I didn't receive many responses, but Jesadec, Hillary and Spencer, our fellow bloggers here at CNET Asia, did point out some of the key factors. In order to be reckoned as a gadget haven, according to them, the country/city should:

• Be able to offer a wide selection of current available gadgets


• Offer legitimate aftersales support and warranty, trustworthiness being the key


• Have up-to-par services and resources to complement the gadget


• Have locals who embrace and are willing to purchase and use these gadgets, i.e. sustainable cycle of new releases by manufacturers and consistent purchases by the public

I totally agree with the above key factors summed up by my fellow bloggers, but as for Hong Kong goes, I think there is one unique factor that makes it a happening gadget haven, and that being the strong second-hand market.

If you stroll down the streets of downtown Hong Kong around the Mongkok area where all the audio-visual electronics shops are, you will notice the following:

• That there is a hawker on every street corner, buying off used handphones, DVD players, PMPs, NDSs, PSPs, cameras, notebook computers, all the way to game consoles. If you have something to sell, they'll pay for it.


• That there are tons of second-hand resellers among the gadget shopping malls selling used gadgets.

Apart from the shopping areas, there are literally dozens of tech forums that have great second-hand deals in their used goods section. All these add up to form the great backbone of a strong second-hand market which is the cornerstone of this gadget haven.

One might ask, what does that have to do with the gadget scene? Well, if you take the time to just give yourself a ballpark figure on the transaction value for the second-hand markets here, you will be surprised. The demand for all these second-hand gadgets is just pure obscene in China and now in Hong Kong as well (with the ever-growing Mainland tourists flooding in daily). Most of these product will be refurbished (to a certain extent) and sold off at some reseller shop in Mainland China (either as used or new, LOL).  

As for the locals, being able to own one of the newest and most "in" models of any gadget becomes a norm, especially among the youngsters. For if the money gets tight or they get bored with it, they can always sell it off in the second-hand market at a fairly decent price. It really doesn't cost that much to own, or more like "RENT", these new models out and be able to show them off for a week or two.

So the next time you're in town, check out these second-hand resellers as well because you might be able to find some really good deals, especially when most of the named brands do carry worldwide warranty these days.

To cite a few examples, the following were spotted over the weekend:

• Sony Alpha A700 (9 months old) @ US$580


• 15-inch MacBook Pro (previous model, 7 months old) @ US$1,050, way better deal than the refurbished ones on Apple Online


• 16GB iPod touch @ US$190

Truly obscene.

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